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- Title
Feeding strategy of the sacoglossan opisthobranch Oxynoe olivacea on the tropical green alga Caulerpa taxifolia.
- Authors
Gianguzza, Paola; Andaloro, Franco; Riggio, Silvano
- Abstract
The feeding behaviour of the shelled sacoglossan Oxynoe olivacea was investigated to better understand the role and importance of this species in influencing encroachments of the alien alga Caulerpa taxifolia in the Mediterranean sea. We tested whether this slug preferred, as preliminary field observations suggested, an aggregative feeding behaviour and which part of the algal thallus, phylloid vs rhizoid, it preferred. Results showed that O. olivacea fed in groups and actively selected phylloid. This outcome poses important questions regarding the possibility that this species, fragmenting the alga thallus, could enhance dispersion and regeneration of C. taxifolia.
- Subjects
MEDITERRANEAN Sea; SLUGS (Mollusks); ANIMAL feeding behavior; CAULERPA taxifolia; PLANT roots; GROWTH; REGENERATION (Biology); INVASIVE plants; ANIMAL behavior
- Publication
Hydrobiologia, 2007, Vol 580, Issue 1, p255
- ISSN
0018-8158
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10750-006-0447-y